Elizabeth Dori Tunstall

As Associate Professor of Design Anthropology, Dori investigates how design translates human values into tangible experiences. After completing her PhD in anthropology at Stanford University, Dori gained extensive industry experience as a Senior Experience Modeler at Sapient and Senior Experience Planner for Arc World Wide.

The purpose of Design Anthropology is to understand how the processes and artefacts of design help define what it means to be human. By taking into account how others see and experience the world differently, products and services can be designed that work with people and nature rather than disrupt them. Currently Dori is working, in collaboration with Dr. Norman Sheehan, on establishing the Swinburne Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Design Anthropology (CIKADA). Where other forms of research into Australian Indigenous cultures often end up imposing upon communities, design anthropology methods seek to understand the many different backgrounds and cultures so as to assist and empower them.

Prior to working at Swinburne University, Dori was a researcher and teacher at the University of Illinois. Dori also maintains an active role as a primary architect in developing the U.S. National Design Policy Initiative. The aim of this peak body is to transform America’s economic competitiveness and democratic governance by establishing new policy in key areas such as: design promotion, innovation and commerce, design standards for safety, sustainability, inclusion, and quality; and the role of design in policy formation and implementation.